Tag Archives: Sérgio Muniz

The panel “The Cinematic Representations of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship” was presented by Patrícia Machado, Thaís Blank, Naara Fontinele (CAMIRA France) and Raquel Schefer (CAMIRA France) at Visible Evidence 2017, the international conference on documentary film and media, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Abstract of the panel: The panel aims to establish more complex genealogies and enriched histories of the cinematic representations of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship (1964-1985). If the history of Brazilian cinema has been predominantly constructed until recently with a strong focus on canonical cinema, this panel seeks to propose a different historical and theoretical framework to analyze this cinematography. Through the examination of non-canonical cinematic objects crossing generic (political cinema, home movies, avant-garde and experimental cinema), formal (newsreels, re-enactment, documentary), and material (16 mm in opposition to 35 mm) instituted categories, the three papers aim to generate critical perspectives in relation to existing accounts of the cinematic representations of this historical period in Brazil, contributing as well to the history of cinema produced under dictatorial regimes in Latin America. The filmic representation of political conflicts on history is understood in its most expansive dimension, enabling and embodying any form of image or sound – from essay film to observational documentary, from newsreels to domestic films – produced in and through all kinds of filmmaking practices. The moving image documenting the marriage of a couple of militants is object of investigation in Patrícia Machado and Thaís Blank’s communication “Entre o político e o íntimo: o cinema doméstico sob a ditadura militar brasileira”. In Naara Fontinele’s paper, the same “repressive imaginary” resurges under the critical and dialectical structure of “You too can become a nice ham” (Sergio Muniz, 1971-1973), an experimental essay film made clandestinely that advocated against the Death Squad operating in São Paulo. To cloture the discussion, Raquel Schefer proposes an analysis of Glauber Rocha’s “Maranhão 66” (1966) and “Passeata dos Cem Mil”(co-directed with Affonso Beato, 1968), two overlooked and contested filmic initiatives from the most distinguished Brazilian filmmaker.